Ten Page Paper Blog

Are psychopaths and serial killers created by nature, nurture of both?

            I chose this question because I have always had a fascination with serial killers and psychopaths, a guilty pleasure entrenched even further by the Ronson book we are reading in class. This seems like an interesting question because while most of what Ronson says claims that psychopaths are made that way by nature, many serial killers are created by both aspects.. There is a lot of research and statistics on serial killer and psychopaths, although probably more on the former than the latter. I would probably have to read a lot of medical journals, books and interviews since I cannot conduct any research myself. Subquestions might include that since there is sure to be some overlap between serial killers and psychopaths, where they lie on the nature-nurture scale. Are there personality, psychosocial, physical, or mental similarities in serial killers who use different weapons or techniques and in psychopaths of the corporate world as oppose to just the common criminals. The biggest problem I will probably face is the same problem I believe criminal profilers or anyone doing an assessment of serial killers and psychopaths may face; I can only base my findings on those who have been caught or diagnosed.

How are the mentally ill and/or disabled being treated in our health care system?

            I chose this question because I have a deep connection with the mentally ill. It seems like an interesting question because the answer would be affecting millions of people. To look for information, I would go to the library and read lots of assessments of the health care system, as well as assessments of mental intuitions. I would also conduct interviews with a few people I know who are either mentally ill or disabled and hear what their options are on the treatment they have received. Subquestions may include whether or not certain types of mental illness are treated worse or better than other types of mental illness, whether or not certain disabilities are treated worse or better than other disabilities, and if the health care system treats the disabled better or worse than the mentally ill. The possible problems I feel I could run in to is there may be many governmental assessments that pad the actual goings-on in mental health institutions.